Dismissive
by Fox Scarlen
Summary: Tobey had always been...dismissive. And now, he was starting to wonder why.


Hey all! I'm back for my second WordGirl fanfic, this time for some good ol' Tobey/WordGirl. Sort of.

Actually, there's really no true romance in this. Merely pondering. An introspective one-shot into the mind of a future teenage Tobey, if you will.

Also, a quick note: I harbor no hard feelings against Scoops. However, I would imagine Tobey does. So, you know, his thoughts, not mine. Trying to stay in character.

Disclaimer: I do not own WordGirl. But why on Earth would you assume I did?

Dismissive

_Adj. 1. dismissive - showing indifference or disregard; "a dismissive shrug"_

Tobey had always been...dismissive.

And now, he was starting to wonder why.

Why had he been so blind to the similarities? Why had he been so blinded _by_ the differences? _Trivial_ differences, no less.

Tobey was confused. Puzzled. Bemused. Befuddled.

Shaken. Very.

He was fifteen, now. Not quite a man, not quite a boy. Just a gangly inbetweener possessed with an awkward, changing body and a strange new voice, one that sounded bizarre no matter what accent he chose to wear.

And his feelings for WordGirl had remained as they had five years ago; had increased, maybe, if even possible.

Perhaps...no longer just a simple crush.

But then...another factor posed a dilemma. For though his feelings for WordGirl remained strong, his feelings for another were...surpassing them?

Tobey still could not understand.

She was just his friend. First his rival, then his friend, then his...he didn't know what she was now to him. A plain, simple girl. The only girl (besides WordGirl) to beat him in vocabulary skills, to mentally challenge him each and every day, to grow as a friend each day and greet him with a smile, one not condescending or irritated but genuine.

No one had ever smiled at him genuinely before. Not like that.

Over five years, Tobey's past missteps had been carefully placed behind them (threatening to destroy the Botsford home, anyone?), and the two had slowly evolved from rivals to acquaintances to friends.

Or more.

Tobey knew Becky didn't like him. Or thought he did. He wasn't sure of anything any more, to be honest. But he knew that she was crushing hard on that Ming kid, the snoopy, arrogant, conceited, irritating, aggravating, overconfident, no-good dirty ba-

No no no. Tobey would not resort to the level of coarse language often being used in his surroundings at high school. They were vulgar, he _refused_ to stoop to such a level.

Still, Ming certainly deserved the word. Why, if only Tobey could-

Again, no. Bad thoughts, this time. Violence would solve nothing.

Well, in this situation, at least.

Ugh. Now he was off on a tangent, like that fool pirate kid who'd run around the city awhile back. Quite pathetic. A magnetic hook? What was that for? Against Tobey's robots, it would make a wonderful weapon. But against WordGirl? Pah.

Back on track.

How could Tobey feel so strongly for _two _girls? _I mean, seriously, what is this? Some sappy love triangle?_ he had thought dourly.

No, that just seemed wrong.

So Tobey started to wonder.

Wonder if, maybe, all those years ago, he had been tricked. Duped. Hoodwinked.

Who's to say that that silhouette he'd seen, the first day he'd met Becky, had actually been WordGirl? Why should it have been? Why shouldn't it have been?

WordGirl was astounding, astonishing, breathtaking.

Becky was normal.

WordGirl could fly, soar, swoop.

Becky could walk.

WordGirl was kind, caring, compassionate.

Becky was sarcastic.

WordGirl was humble, modest, shy.

Becky was arrogant.

WordGirl was selfless, self-sacrificing, devoted.

Becky was selfish.

And yet...

...these were only dismissals. Poor ones.

WordGirl _was _astounding. Amazing. But so was Becky.

WordGirl _could_ fly. But who was to say Becky couldn't either?

WordGirl _was_ kind. That did not deny her love for sarcasm, so similar to Becky's. Her skeptically raised eyebrow and smirk.

WordGirl _was_ humble. When there was a microphone shoved in her face. Truth be told, Tobey knew WordGirl could be a fair bit arrogant. She enjoyed the attention, basked in the limelight, but, no denying, it was well deserved. As was Becky's Vocabulary Bee first place trophy, won a year after her mishap in the previous one.

WordGirl _was _selfless. She devoted her life to fighting crime. Not just her life, but her secret identity's. As a superhero, WordGirl's alter ego must have to lie a lot, appear selfish (perhaps not always _appear_) and rely on vague excuses to leave her friends and family and save the city.

How much of a toll must that take on her? The lying, the deception, the ruse? For so long, she had kept her masquerade up. Had it affected her real life? Did she often rush in late, leave class for no reason, struggle with homework and projects and ditch plans with loved ones?

Becky did.

But considering she was risking all of her relationships to save the city on a near daily basis...the epitome of selfless.

And considering all of these similarities...Tobey was beginning to recognize his dismissive attitude for exactly what it was. What it had been.

The brown hair, ended in a wave, the bangs, parted so neatly down the middle, the skin, tanned and bronze, the eyes, confident and bright, and so lit up during the process of defining a word.

It was the eyes that had started this spiral of thought.

Yesterday, as Tobey pondered his situation, his feelings, he glanced to his right to see Becky defining the word 'loquacious' to a student-

"Loquacious! It means talkative, a chatterbox, someone who has a hard time being quiet. Like Mr. Archive, when he rambles on about history."

-and, accidently, found his gaze focused on hers.

They were the same. Alight in fervor and excitement at the chance to show off her skilled vocabulary, to define a word, to indulge in her passion.

WordGirl's and Becky's eyes were the same.

And so were the two girls.

Tobey couldn't believe he'd never realized it before. Certainly, she had never been very good at her excuses, nor at avoiding slip-ups. She tended to catch them, but not always.

How thick must the residents of this town _be_, to have yet to catch such mistakes?

He supposed he would be included among them, though. He had doubted his first instinct, had ignored his first accusation to her of being WordGirl, had considered the thought insane.

Tobey had just been too dismissive.

Perhaps now it was time to stop.

...

How was it? Again, sorry for any typos or such. This was, like my last fic, written at two o'clock in the morning. (This just seems to be my WordGirl muse time, or something. It's weird. I'm also well aware I shouldn't even be up right now...^^;)

Anyways, this is indeed a one-shot. I think this is good how it is, and the rest should be up to you readers' imagination.

Not to say I wouldn't be opposed to a sequel one-shot of his resulting actions. ;P Tell me what you think? (I'm still pretty new to writing in this section.)

Anyways, thanks for reading! Feedback is always appreciated! ;) I hope you enjoyed the story!


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